Juiciest Bits From the Royal Exposé

Oct 30, 2011 The Daily Beast

Behind the scenes: A new book has revealed a number of the inner secrets of the royal family, from how one servant has to iron Charles' shoelaces to the correct protocol for using the Buckingham Palace swimming pool

Not in Front of the Corgis, from monarchy chronicler Brian Hoey, is out in June and provides a tantalizing peek inside palace life. Tom Sykes gets his hands on a U.K. copy and offers the best tidbits, from Prince Charles’s shoelace-ironers (and massive staff) to a royal murder.

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The Corgis Access All Areas

Brian Hoey writes that he was once in Buckingham Palace when he passed two young footmen whispering together in a corridor. “I jokingly asked them if they were conspiring, to which they replied, ‘Please Sir, not in front of the Corgis.’”

The footmen meant that when they saw the corgis—the breed of dog beloved by the queen—they knew the monarch would not be far behind.

“Because the dogs hold such an important place in Her Majesty’s affections, the staff are careful not to offend them in any way,’ writes Hoey. “They dare not utter a remark in Royal hearing criticizing the animals. The Queen’s Corgis are allowed unrestricted access to any part of any Royal residence; nowhere is off-limits.” The royal chef prepares their food and they are never fed canned food, Hoey writes. But they are not universally popular: “The Palace footmen loathe the animals, as they are yappy and snappy. They also are not fully house-trained so a supply of soda water and blotting paper is kept at hand just in case of any ‘little accidents.’”

Prince Charles Is a Clotheshorse Who Gets His Shoelaces Ironed

Prince Charles employs 133 staff to look after him and Camilla, more than 60 of them domestics: chefs, cooks, footmen, housemaids, gardeners, chauffeurs, cleaners, and his three personal valets—gentleman’s gentlemen—whose sole responsibility is the care of their royal master’s extensive wardrobe and choosing what he is to wear on any particular day. A serving soldier polishes the prince’s boots and shoes every day—he has 50 handmade pairs each costing over £800 by Lobb of St James’s—and a housemaid washes his underwear as soon as it is discarded. Nothing Charles or Camilla wears is ever allowed near a washing machine. Particular attention is paid to handkerchiefs, which are monogrammed and again all hand-washed, as it was found that when they were sent to a laundry, some would go missing—as souvenirs. HRH’s suits, of which he has 60, cost more than £3,000 each, and his shirts, all handmade, cost £350 a time (he has more than 200), while his collar stiffeners are solid gold or silver. Charles’s valets also iron the laces of his shoes whenever they are taken off.
Full extensive story at The Daily Beast

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Illustration at top of story from The Daily Mail.